Her Day
by Celtic karate
Summary: An AU piece for the rest of the series after season 7. Mulder was never taken and Scully was never pregnant. R&R


A/N: I've never written a birthday fic before. So here is my attempt. This is also my first attempt at a really long one chapter story and M action for this fandom. Tell me how I did, please? Pretty please? Pretty please with a cherry on top? Now you've reduced me to begging, not cool. (;

Her Day

I wake up and turned to look at the clock: three in the morning, on the 23rd of February. It was my birthday. I never could sleep in on my birthday; not for as long as I could remember. I roll out of bed and got ready for the day. I took a shower and got dressed in my pale blue scrubs. I ate a hearty breakfast of bacon, eggs, toast and fried ham (lean). I know that this was the only meal I'd get to eat until, maybe if I was lucky, this evening. As I ate I went over what I expected to do today.

My mother would call sometime around lunch or as I left for work and we would make tentative plans for the weekend to celebrate my birthday. I would do rounds, maybe a surgery or two (if I was lucky) and the other half of my shift in the ER. I would sit by myself in the cafeteria during my meager lunch break; if I got one. After work I would come home to my Georgetown apartment and check my emails; there would be one from Mulder, there usually was.

Mulder… How I missed him. It had been several months since he came back and they closed the X-Files. He spent the summer months closing his apartments and selling some of his parent's property. He sold his Father's house in the vineyard and his mother's house on the coast, as well as their vacation home in Quonochontaug, Rhode Island. He had told me that he was going back to school, or more specifically he was going back to Oxford. He wanted to get a Ph.D. in Childhood and adolescent Psychology. He wanted his emphasis to be children and young adults so he could keep what he was good at and still get away from law enforcement and profiling as much as possible. He had left in the Middle of September and was not due back until June; that is, if he came back. He had to come back, he just had to.

So Mulder would send me an email like he did at Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's. He would tell me Happy Birthday and how much he missed me and how his classes were going. He would tell me how much he wanted to say certain words in his email but refrained because those words should be spoken and not typed the first time they were exchanged; so he would wait until he saw me. And he would sign his letter as Fox, because even though he still doesn't like that name he thinks that it was time we started calling each other by our first names instead of our last; after all we were no longer with the FBI.

While calling him Fox might take some getting used to I love the jolt to my heart that I get every time that I read my name; _Dana_ every time I read one of his missives. I am already counting down the time until he comes home to me.

I see that it was almost time for me to leave for my shift at the hospital so I cleared up my mess, gathered my keys and phone and left my apartment. On my way down the hall towards the elevator my phone went off; and sure enough it was my Mother.

"Dana! Happy Birthday Hon! I was thinking that we could get together this weekend for lunch. Charlie will be here as will Tara and Matthew."

"Thank you Mom. And sure that sounds great. But why no Bill?" I ask as the elevator opened to let me off at the bottom floor as I walked out the door and to my car.

"He is on a tour; it should last until about the middle of March. So Tara and Matthew came by themselves and are staying for about two weeks. And Charlie is down here for a visit. So with the three of them in attendance we thought we would throw a little birthday celebration for you. So you are still planning on coming this weekend right?"

Of course (curse my luck) the one time Bill is not around, but the rest of the family is; Mulder would have to be in England. I was almost to the hospital. "Yea, sure mom, I'll be there. Hey look; I am almost at work now so I have to go."

"OK Dana, see you this weekend." Mom disconnected and I put my phone into the pocket of my scrubs and parked the car in spot 42; reserved for Dr. Dana K. Scully. I got out of my car, lock it and make my way into the hospital. I stop in the locker rooms to drop off my purse and grab my lab coat. Next stop was the Doctor's Break Room to clock in. After I clocked in I made my way up to the fourth floor: the Children's Ward; and started my rounds.

The days were always like this: mornings with the children and afternoons in the ER. At least here I worked at the ER and was not a patient or the next of kin to a patient; that was some relief. The day went by slowly with various docs and nurses wishing me a happy birthday. All I wanted to do was get home and read my emails (or one particular email from one particular person). Finally! It was seven in the evening and I was released from duty. Nothing more than a few broken bones and twisted ankles came in today and all of my kids are recovering from surgery without complications.

I went back into the break room and clocked out. I poured myself a glass of water and drowned it in one big gulp. Then I went back to the locker room and changed into the street clothes that I had worn yesterday (being too tired to change back into them yesterday and just went straight home); I put up my lab coat, grabbed my purse and was out the door. The ride home was swift; I listened to the radio; I don't recall what was being played, the music just served as white noise for me.

I got to my apartment and closed and locked the door behind me. I went into the kitchen and started to boil water. While the water was boiling I went into my room and changed back into the old pair of volleyball shorts and one of Mulder's dress shirts that he didn't bring with him when he left. It still smelled like him. I made myself some tea and went over to my computer. I started it up and sipped my tea while I waited for it to warm up. Once it did I immediately went to check my email. I had a couple from various solicitors (I put those in to trash bin on my computer), a couple from various relatives including my sixteen year old cousin who turned 17 in three days. And aha! Finally! An email from one Fox "Mantle" Mulder. I eagerly clicked it open and began to read.

My _Dearest Dana,_

_ I miss you something terrible. Sorry did that sound British to you? Anyways, my classes are good, the roommates have not killed each other (that is a miracle in itself), and the food is still the same as it was last time I was here. I have waited to send this email until now so it would show up on your Birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I wish I could be there right now to hold you and tell you happy birthday to your face instead of here in an email. But I want you to do something for me. I want you to picture that night on the baseball field for me Dana. Picture my arms wrapped around you as we fought for the middle of the bat. Can you see it in your mind, Dana? Now picture me standing right behind you. Imagine me putting my arms on your shoulders and running my hands down your arms and back up to wrap around your waist. Your head falls back to lean against my chest and we just stand there; at peace, in peace, of peace._

Now when I got to that part I started picturing what he told me; now to be fair to me I would have anyways, I mean I would have thought of that night and the night when he gave me the Apollo key chain. I wished he was here with me. I wished it so bad that I really imagined that he was there with me. He put his hands on my shoulders and used his thumbs to start working away the tight muscle and he moved them down my arms still keeping his light massage going. He reached my hands and squeezed them for a moment before moving back up; his hands reached my elbow before they slipped around my waist they were warm and strong and soothing. I leaned into his touch.

Wait, wait a minute . . . My stool should have knocked me flat on my back had I leaned that far into empty air!

As if reading my thoughts the arms around me loosened enough to allow me to turn around. Slowly I spun around on the stool and found myself staring into hazel eyes flecked with forest green. I could always manage to lose myself in those eyes if I stared long enough. Mulder was here. He was here with me. A smile formed on my face as tears of joy ran down my face. Without saying a word he wiped my tears away from my face with his thumbs. Just as silently he bent his head and captured my lips with his. The kiss he gave me was sweet and tender. The kiss I gave him back was another matter entirely. My kiss exuded joy at having him back. It spoke of never letting him go again. But most of all it spoke of Love. Almost without thinking we both opened our mouths and deepened the kiss. His arms were still wrapped around my waist. I twisted my arms around his neck letting my fingers tangle in his hair. We continued to kiss until we were dizzy from lack of oxygen; we pulled back at the same time at rested our foreheads together while taking big breaths of air.

I still didn't believe that he was here with me. My hands came up and traced his cheeks, nose, eyebrows and lips. Then I moved to follow the line of his jaw down his throat and across his shoulders and chest until I found his heart. His heart was pounding in his rib-cage. Mine was too. I kissed him again and I wrapped my legs around his waist and he hoisted me into his arms as he carried me to my bedroom.

He put me down near the head of my bed and continued to kiss me as he undid the buttons on my shirt. My own hands undid my skirt and let it pool at my feet. I stepped out of my shoes as I stepped out of my skirt. My hands then started to un-tuck his t-shirt and pull it over his head. By this time he has managed to get my shirt off and I am only in my bra and panties. He moves his hand up and down my spine as he places kisses along my neck as I undo his jeans and let them slide down his frame. He reaches behind me and undoes my bra and I shrug it off of myself. I push him onto the bed and rid myself of my panties. I climb in the bed after him pull his boxers off of him, freeing his erection.

I start to place kisses up his body, starting at his hips. I make my way up his chest; stopping to tease his naval and his nipples. Finally I make it to his shoulder, where it meets his neck. I gather a bit of his skin into my mouth and nibble on it. He groans loudly and I can feel it vibrating down his body to mine. So I release his skin (I didn't quite give him a love bite) and continue on my journey; kissing my way up his neck to his ear. I give his ear a little attention, sucking on the lobe and circling the shell with my tongue. I move to his cheek, then his temple to his eyelids then to his other temple and cheek before kissing his nose and finally his lips.

He is going nuts (pun fully intended) by this point. So when I kiss his lips, he pulls my leg over his to where I am straddling him. I don't mind at all; in fact this is glorious. I moan into our kiss. He moves me onto my back as he settles between my thighs again.

"I missed you." The words are out of my mouth before he can claim my lips in another searing kiss.

"Happy Birthday Dana." He tells me before covering my lips with his and pushing himself inside me. I groan, the sound being muffled by our kiss. He gets all the way in and pauses, allowing us both to adjust. After all it had been a long 5 months or so without each other; and while that was nothing to the 7 years of our partnership, once we truly started our relationship we needed to at least see the other person, even if it was only see, every day.

After a few minutes he stated moving inside me; pulling almost all the way out slowly before diving back in at a faster pace. I met him stroke for stroke with my hips. Soon though I needed more so I wrapped my legs high on his ribs, allowing him deeper penetration I sighed it was so good. Very soon I could feel the start of my orgasm building in my lower stomach.

He started to move without a rhythm, because he was close as well. I cupped his face in my hands and brought his mouth down to my left breast. He brought my nipple into his mouth as he laved attention on it. He then switched to the other breast. This brought us both closer to the edge. I could feel it building in me and I knew that if I wanted to, I could let go right now and come. But I wanted him with me.

I drag his face away from my breasts and to my mouth. After kissing him for a long time, it felt like, he pulled away to catch his breath.

"With me?" I question him both with my eyes and out loud. He nodded and grunted, too far gone for the rational thought process required to form words to answer me.

I let go and felt him come with me as we went over the edge of reason and ecstasy.

Later after we had both caught our breath, he lay on his back and I was on my side cuddled into him with my head on his chest. One of his arms was around my shoulders holding me to him, and the other hand moved through my hair. One of my arms was under the both of us while the other was across his torso; pulling him closer to me like he pulled me closer to him. I had one leg down straight near his, while my other leg was thrown across his thighs.

I felt him place kisses into my hair before moving to my temple. I lift my head up so he could kiss my lips. Our kiss quickly heats up and I make to roll on top of him, but he stops me and moves me back into his side.

"Whoa there. We need to wait a little while more. Besides I just like lying here kissing you."

"I love you Fox Mulder." I tell him giggling before I bury my face in his neck.

"I love you too Dana Scully." He tells me before kissing the top of my head again. We just lay there in the silence, enjoying being in the other's arms. I don't want to bring up this conversation but I have to know how long he is here for. I need to know how long I'll have with me. So I take a very deep breath before I ask him and I know he knows the question is coming. We after have that kind of communication that doesn't require words.

"How Long?" My eyes start to tear up at the thought of him leaving for another year or more. He moves me to where I am lying on top of him so we don't have to crane to see the other's eyes.

"Long enough." A usual cryptic answer. I sigh and he seems to realize that I needed to know.

"I finished talking all the pre-reqs for my classes to get the certificate for my specialty; it helped that I already have a masters in Psychology. Now with these classes it will be a Ph.D. I need to go back and complete this semester but you have me for a week until I need to return. Then I will be back by the end of June, beginning of July at the latest."

"How long are you gone for after the summer?"

"I was going to complete everything over in England, but about three months into the semester I realized that I missed you too damn much. So I told my advisor that I was returning to the States for the summer and that I wasn't returning. He gave me three different Universities I could transfer to without losing any credits. My choices were Georgetown, Yale or New York. I chose Georgetown. So after this semester, you won't be able to get rid of me; if you want me that is?"

"So I currently get your presence for a week then I get you until the end of time?" I replied a smile on my face.

"Does that mean that you'll have me?" He replied, hope shinning in his eyes.

Poor man, he actually thought that I would say no. He doesn't know that of course I would have him, he is my entire existence. Without him I would have nothing.

"Of course I'll have you, you silly man." I tell him with new tears springing to my eyes. But these are tears of joy, nothing else. "Is this your way of proposing to me . . . Fox?" It still felt weird to finally have his permission to call him by his given name, after all this time. But yet at the same time it felt right. Mulder was a name one called their partner; Fox was a name you called your husband, at least in private.

"Is this your way of saying yes?" He countered me a smile threatening to split his face in two. "Because yes I am asking."

"My answer is yes, Fox." Was I all I had time to get our before his head lifted from the bed and grabbed my lips in another searing kiss. I gave myself into the kiss and raised myself up from his body until I had my knees and hands supporting my weight without breaking the kiss. One of my hands trailed down his neck to his chest. From there in went to one of his nipples were it teased it to a point before repeating the process. My hand trailed lower on his abdomen to his newly grown erection. I started to stroke and pump his erection when we broke the kiss for air. Taking in panting breaths I moved my head down to his neck. When I found his pulse point I started to suck, lick and bite there until I had given him a love bite.

I continued to tend to his erection until his hand stopped me. I looked up at him from his neck and his eyes told me that he wanted me in him, not stroking him with my hand. I gave him a very large grin and raised myself back over him on my knees and used the hand that had been stroking him to guide him to my entrance. Very slowly I sank down onto him, _very slowly._ Once I was ready I started to move my hips in a slow circle before sliding up and back down; only to repeat the process. Soon his hands settled on my hips and help me lift myself up. Very soon I can feel my orgasm building and a few minutes later I came. The spasms overtake me and as I scream his name he flips me onto my back and begins to pound into me to find his own release.

Minutes later I can feel his erection pulse and a few strokes later he comes. I let him rest his weight on top of me again. And we both doze.

Hours later I woke, curled into his side again, hungry. He is still awake.

"What time is it?" I ask him in a groggy voice, I must have been out longer then I thought.

"4 AM. Why?"

"I'm hungry, I didn't get to eat. I came home and checked my emails. And you know the rest." I grin up at him.

"Do you want something to eat now or can you wait a few hours and I'll take you to breakfast?"

"Hmmmmmmmm. I can wait." I tell him. "Hey, I'm going over to see my mom later today. Want to come?"

"I never say no to seeing your mom, Dana. Anyone else going to be there?"

"Tara and Matthew are there, but Bill is out at sea for a few more months. And Charlie will be there." I tell him with a smile; I knew it was going to surprise my mom when she saw Fox and heard our news. Speaking of news. "So we are really engaged now. I can't believe it. Do you have a ring?"

"No I looked, but nothing stood out. So maybe today we could go look before we head to your mother's?"

"That sounds perfect. You know that she's your mother too now right?"

"Actually, my mind didn't get that far really. I'm still shocked that you said yes."

"Why are you shocked Fox?" I asked, surely he knew what he meant to me.

"Well first I was shocked that I even wanted to marry you; I always assumed that I would be a playboy type all my life. Then I didn't think that you would want to marry me, sleep with me and love me, yes; but not marry me. So our conversation last night/early this morning shocked me." He told me and I was glad that it wasn't some big self-degrading issue, but a simple matter of who he thought he would be in life.

"Mulder look at me." I told him looking at him; I waited until he met my eyes before continuing. "You Mulder are my life. You are my entire existence. I need you like air, like you need me. We are co-dependent on each other. Never doubt that. My love for you is one of the strongest forces out there in nature. I will gladly tie myself to you in any way I can." I pressed a kiss to his lips as I finished.

"And I believe you. Know that I feel the same about you. What I said to you in the Hallway outside my apartment before you were stung and again when you saved me is all true. Was true back then and is still true now." He kissed me again and I settled back into my spot on his chest.

After a few minutes of silence he spoke again. "What kind of ring would you like? Money is no issue."

I thought for a moment to bring back one of my fantasies of when we were married and started talking to him in a dreamy voice as I described the ring I was wearing.

"The ring will sit with the wedding band we wear. The ring will be a single princess cut diamond surrounded by two sapphires that are also princess cut. The wedding band is white gold with more sapphires dotting it. The bands are white gold, not normal gold. I never liked that kind of gold on engagement and wedding rings." I hoped he could see the ring as I saw it in my head.

"That sounds lovely. You might want to write it down before we go. Do you want to go back to sleep or do something else?"

"I don't think that I can sleep anymore, but I don't think that I'm ready for another round so soon; as much as I want to." I told him.

"Okay, next question. Want to get out of bed now or later?"

"Do you have something planned?"

"Nope." He answered.

"Then stay in bed for another couple hours. Most stores won't be open until ten-ish or so. So we should leave the apartment for breakfast at about 8. Gives us time to get there and take our time eating then look at rings for a couple hours. We should head to my mother's at about 1 at the latest."

"Sounds like a plan." He reaches over and sets the alarm for 7 o'clock then snuggles back in the bed with me. A few minutes later I start to shiver a little, so he brings up the blankets that we managed to push down the bed last night up around us.

I thought that I would stay awake in his arms, but once I started to warm up I drifted off to sleep.

The sound of the alarm woke me. I was still curled around Mulder. I thought he was asleep; until I felt his hand stroking up and down my spine. I lifted my head from his chest to look at him. When he saw that I was awake he gave me a smile before lightly pressing our lips together in a sweet kiss.

"Good morning." He told me when we broke apart.

"Yes it is a good morning. Good morning to you too, my love."

"I will never tire of hearing you call me that." He told me before giving me another kiss. He rolls onto his side, continuing to kiss me. I lay there in his arms with our legs tangled together kissing him until I ran out of breath. Pulling out of his kiss I stood up. I pulled him up with me and led him to my bathroom where I turned on the shower.

"Did you bring clothes with you?" I asked him.

"Yes I did. I hid them in the kitchen, in a bag. Let me go grab the bag and put it on the bed." He ran form the room and returned a few minutes later with his razor in hand. By this point the water was warm enough, so we hopped in the shower. I started to wash my hair as he did his. We took turns rinsing. I moved on to conditioner when he stopped my hands and took over. Massaging my scalp as he went; it felt heavenly. He rinsed my hair out then turned to himself. I would have returned the favor but he was too tall and I didn't want to slip on the wet tile. So after he rinsed it out I grabbed the body wash and a wash cloth and started washing his chest. He seemed to enjoy it. When I was finished he rinsed and I started on myself. I rinsed myself off as he stepped out. He wrapped a towel around him as I watched from the shower. He went over to my sink and started to shave. I did the same thing in the shower with my legs. We were both done at the same time. I quickly dried myself off and wrapped another towel around my head to wring out my hair. I stepped into the bedroom with Fox behind me. We dressed in peace. Then I returned to the bathroom to blow dry my hair and put on my make-up. He joined me as I started to brush my teeth.

Finally we were done. Dressed in casual clothes we left the apartment. Wordlessly I handed him my keys and he hopped in the driver's side and we drove to a quiet dinner for breakfast.

An hour and half later, we paid for our food and walked across the street to a small set of shops. We saw three different jewelry stores just starting to open. We went in to one and spent 45 minutes looking for the right ring; we didn't find it. So we moved on to the next one. We found one that was similar, but it had emeralds instead of sapphires. So we moved on to the third and there it was sitting in the window. It was exactly like the ring I had envisioned and told Fox about.

I had a huge grin on my face as Fox talked to the store owner. He picked out the ring from the display and sized me up. The ring was in my size. The store owner didn't want to part with the ring until he got his next batch of rings to fill out the spot. Fox offered him twice the money that the ring was worth. He accepted with a smile on his face. Fox handed over half of it in cash and set up monthly payments to pay off the rest. The owner placed the ring in a box and handed it over to him. Both of us were grinning like fools as we left the store and headed back to the car. Before I got in the car he stopped me.

"You know we are engaged. Do you want the ring now, or should I re-propose at your mother's?"

"I want it now. I can't wait." So he placed the ring on my finger and we headed to my mother's house for lunch.

We reached my mother's house soon and before we stepped out I leaned over and gave Fox a kiss.

"She doesn't know you're here does she?"

"Nope. I told no one that I was coming back besides the guys. They were the ones who picked me up from the airport, so I could surprise you."

"So I can surprise her at least once. Do we want to tell them about our engagement today?" I asked; I was really excited about telling my mom I was getting married to Fox. She after all is the only other person who is allowed to call him Fox.

"Yes we can, but not all at once. That'll shock her. And I kind of want to ask for her blessing. I feel like I need to do that. So please can I re-propose to you? To make her happy that she got to see it. And I think that it will be a better story to tell people. I mean telling someone I never actually asked you and got down on one knee, but we beat around the bush of the issue after sex doesn't sound quite so romantic."

"What if she says no?"

"Then we elope. Either way we are tying ourselves together. I just want to be a, gentlemen, for lack of a better word."

"Okay Fox." I slid off my ring and handed it to him and he slipped it back into the box and put the box in his pocket.

We both got out of the car and he grabbed my hand as we walked up the steps to the front door. I knocked at the door and it was answered by Tara. She smiled at me and Fox. I gave her a wink when she noticed our joined hands as we walked in the door.

"Mom! Dana's here." She yelled, instantly getting that we wanted to surprise her with Fox. I guessed she was in the kitchen getting the finishing touches on the lunch we were having. However after Tara finished yelling I heard movement from the dining room. She came out and gave a squeal when she saw Fox. She rushed over to us and brought us into a huge hug. She let us go then noticed us holding hands.

"I always knew there was something going on between you two. How long?"

"Well we told each other after I came back from England shortly before our Hollywood Adventure. But it was more of a fact that we knew what the other felt, but because of our jobs and partnership we couldn't do anything. But after our return from Bellefleur, Oregon I realized that I needed her. I had already found the truth about my sister, which was the point of me staying on the X-Files. So we closed her down and left the FBI. Which you already knew; but I decided to go back to school and I needed money to do that. So I sold my parent's houses and my apartment. I lived with Dana until I left for Oxford. I have considered her my girlfriend ever since, though 'girlfriend' seems rather high school to me."

"I'm happy for you both. Now come on into the living room." She pulled us both into the living room before retreating back into the dining room. Matthew stood up and gave me a hug.

"Happy Birthday Aunt Dana." He whispered to me.

"Thank you Mattie." I told him hugging him back. When I let him go he went back to the couch as another red head came up to me, my brother Charlie.

Charlie was a stocky sort compared to Fox's and Bill's lanky frame. But where Charlie lacked height he made up for in muscle. He had broad shoulders and large calf muscles. His hair was the classic Scully red and his eyes were brown like mom's eyes instead of blue like dad's eyes. He wrapped me in a hug and I let go of Fox to hug him back. Once he set me back down I took Fox's hand again and pulled him closer to me.

"Charlie, this is Fox. Fox is my partner, boyfriend, or significant other, whatever you want to call him. Fox this is my younger brother, Charlie." The two men shook hands, both eyeing the other. Finally they pulled back and Charlie gave me a smile. He was nowhere near as tense as Bill would be, and I for one was happy that he wasn't.

We sat down on the couch and Fox pulled me onto his lap where I sat comfortably until the food was ready. We all sat at the table and Fox helped bring in the food from the kitchen. I assumed this was where and when he was going to ask my mom for her blessing to re-propose to me. But I would have to wait until after we had finished eating to find out.

The food was delicious, as always. And I had cut up all my food to fork sized pieces so I could hold Fox's hand as we ate. My mom seemed to love this; I loved it too. After dessert (a strawberry Jell-O and pretzel dish) was served and devoured we grabbed glasses of water and made our way back into the living room to open presents. I sat on the floor against Fox's legs while everyone else sat on the couch; except Mattie, he sat next to me so he could pass me my presents. The first one he handed me was from him. I opened the thin envelope to find a gift card to Barnes & Nobles and a picture of Moby Dick.

"Dad said that was your favorite book and he says that I am good at drawing animals so I drew you it." He told me. I gave him another hug. He then passed me Tara's and Bill's gift. They had gotten me new sheets. They were Egyptian cotton in a dark green color that I loved. Thanking Tara as Mattie handed me Charlie's gift. Charlie had gotten me a bunch of CDs that we used to have on vinyl and cassette tape. I gave him a big grin and looked through the CDs.

"I didn't know what kind of music you listen to now, but I remembered that you always loved these as a kid." He told me.

"Thank you Charlie, they're wonderful."

Next is Mom's gift. Mattie passes me a large bag and I happily tear into the tissue paper. I find some small sample candles in my favorite scents. "I thought you might like the small size, the others were huge." Also in the bag are a couple packages of my favorite tea and other tea drinking supplies. And last but not least there was a picture of a new stereo for the apartment. "I was over for New Year's and you stereo was so old, I didn't know if it worked at all so I went and got you a new one."

"It's perfect Mom. The old one crapped out on me last week while I was cleaning the kitchen. I just didn't want to go out and get a new one."

Finally it was Fox's turn. I lean my head on his knees so I can look back at him.

"Fox, did you bring a gift for Dana?" My mom asked. I didn't know what Fox told her but I knew that he asked. So I decided that I play along like I have no clue what he's doing. Mulder must have seen this in my face because he gave a slight nod of his head.

"He's here Mom. That's my gift, he's my gift."

"Now Dana, did you really think that I would surprise you on your birthday with no gift?" He winked at him. Before stepping over me and motioning for me to take his spot. So I sat down on the couch and he kneeled in front of me. I smiled at him as he took my hands in his.

"Dana Scully, I told you years ago in my hallway that you kept me grounded, that you saved me. You did that as my partner and as my friend. I told you not even a year later in that same hallway that you were my constant. Throughout these last 8 years or so you have always been there. For me and for the work. And now you and I are where we are supposed to be; together as a couple, not working partners. Even though I have not physically been with you this last 7 months or so. I am always in your heart. I hope to stay there forever. Dana, Will you marry me?" He let go of my hand at this point and reached into his pocket to pull out the ring.

Even though I knew it was coming, his speech still brought me to tears. I couldn't speak so I nodded yes with tears running down my cheeks and a smile on my face. He slipped the ring on my finger before sweeping me up in his arms bridal style and spinning me around. I put my arms around his neck to support myself as I laughed. He stopped spinning but didn't put me down. He just stared into my eyes until I leaned forward and kissed him.

I will marry the man I love. The man I have loved for many years. The man I would do, give or be anything for. And he wants me to be his wife, his life like I am his. I could do this.


End file.
